Steps

Summer of Service Prepares Youth for WYD

by Antonina Zielinska During World Youth Day in Madrid next month four young people from Sacred Heart Church, a worship site of Mary of Nazareth parish, Fort Greene, will continue their desires to grow closer to God. The four college students: Omar Barragan, Maria Arteaga, Kelly Ortiz and Alejandro De Anda have been chosen to […]

Classroom

Cathedral Program Teaches Boys How to Lead as Men

by Antonina Zielinska School may be out for summer vacation, but the Father Troike Summer Leadership Program at Cathedral Preparatory Seminary, Elmhurst, is in full swing. During the four-week program students from Cathedral Prep work alongside professional educators to provide a leadership program for boys in grades six-to-eight. “These young men are the future of […]

Junior Champs

Title Returns to N. Floral Park

  The Our Lady of the Snows Junior girls from North Floral Park recaptured the CYO diocesan softball championship by defeating St. Margaret’s, Middle Village, 7-4. The team from St. Margaret’s had beaten Snows last year which marked the first time in six years that the Snows’ girls did not win a diocesan title.

One Year Since the Death of ‘Voice of God’

Normally, referring to someone’s voice as the “voice of God” would be considered a form of blasphemy. However, there’s just one exception to this rule: Bob Sheppard. Sheppard possessed one of the most distinguished and recognized voices of the past century that made him a revered public address announcer. As the one-year anniversary of his […]

Churches Are Not Angels

As “incarnate spirits” all human beings live in and through a body. So do our churches. None of us are angels. Were we pure spirits, we would not have to be concerned about our bodies. We wouldn’t have to eat or sleep or exercise. So we wouldn’t need to work to earn money or pay […]

Church Figures Not Uplifting

The Official Catholic Directory for 2011 arrived on my desk the other day. It is the official compilation of the statistics from every diocese in the United States. Those of us who frequently use this volume refer to it as the Kennedy Directory because it is published annually by P. J. Kennedy and Sons. This […]

Haitian Slave Is a Saint of the Future

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, A celebration of the life of the Servant of God, Pierre Toussaint, at Our Lady of Refuge parish conducted by Father Rony Mendes prompted me to write about the life of this holy man.  He was a Haitian slave who came to New York in the 18th […]

Change in Greenpoint Was a Hairy Situation

by Veronica Szczygiel The Polish-American parish of St. Stanislaus Kotska Church in Greenpoint has radically changed almost overnight. I have attended Masses there often in my childhood, and I currently teach second-grade CCD religious education classes. But never have I seen the parish so vibrant and alive as it is today. What was the cause […]

Prayer: Friendship and Silence

by Father Robert Lauder Eighth in a series In recent years I think I have come to see in a deeper way how precious our friendships are. Among life’s blessings, friends must be at the very top of the list. I believe that there are few realities in our lives that are more important than […]

Consume Fish Dishes In Moderation

Dear Dr. Garner, I really enjoy fish, particularly sushi. It’s one of my summer dinner staples since I don’t like to cook when the temperature rises. However, I’m concerned about mercury poisoning. What is your advice for people who love fish, but don’t want to consume too much mercury? What are some of the symptoms […]